The Prancing Horse turned off the lights on Saturday in Melbourne, failing to meet Friday’s expectations and turning the much-anticipated qualifying session into a disappointing fourth-row start. Charles Leclerc tried to find explanations ahead of a potentially wet Australian GP. The Monegasque is confident: “I think I know the reason for this result.” Did Ferrari sacrifice qualifying for a wet race?
Disappointment and bitterness filled Ferrari’s garage after the 2025 Australian GP qualifying session. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were unable to build on Friday’s strong performance. The two Ferrari drivers had to settle for a fourth-row start: Leclerc will line up seventh on the grid, with Hamilton beside him in P8. After an encouraging Friday, which had placed Ferrari among the pole contenders, Saturday dashed the Maranello duo’s ambitions.
Never dominant in Q1 and Q2, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton saw their pace drop further in the pole-deciding Q3. The final session rewarded Ferrari’s rivals, with McLaren securing an impressive one-two ahead of the ever-present Max Verstappen. The SF-25 struggled in several phases, showing its biggest weaknesses in the third sector, especially in Q3. Leclerc couldn’t go beyond seventh place, over six-tenths off Norris’s pole time. The Maranello driver failed to complete a clean session, ruining his final attempt with a messy start to his second run, which was ultimately invalidated.
Charles Leclerc knows the explanation: A wet setup for Ferrari?
Speaking to Sky Sport Italia, Charles Leclerc tried to explain Ferrari’s Saturday collapse. “Overall, the performance was not the same as yesterday. I think I know the reason for this drop-off, but we need to analyze the data. We did the right thing—we needed to sacrifice some performance. Obviously, it’s never something you want, but it was the right decision for this weekend. But I won’t go into more detail.” – he pointed out.
The Monegasque is certain about the reason behind Ferrari’s qualifying downfall in Melbourne. Did the team opt for a setup more suited to race conditions, with rain almost certain? At the moment, a “wet setup” for the SF-25 seems the most plausible explanation, even though the outcome was far from ideal.
“Seventh and eighth is definitely a disappointing result,” Charles Leclerc admitted. “Even in the worst-case scenario, I didn’t expect this. As I said before the weekend, this is just a starting point—we have to work, the season is long. We don’t need to aim for miracles in the race; we need to score points. Then, step by step, we’ll get back to the front. I’m sure this car has potential, but today we were outside the right operating window. And it showed. The car changed quite a bit from Q2 to Q3. In Q3, I never found the right feeling. I’m not satisfied, but this car was very difficult to drive in qualifying.”
Looking ahead to the race, Charles Leclerc will give it his all but won’t take unnecessary risks: “There are many question marks for tomorrow, but I’ll try to do my best as always.”
